


The Break Up To Makeup

by Eggsquisite



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, BAMF Bucky Barnes, Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Insecure Tony Stark, M/M, Omega Bucky Barnes, Omega Tony Stark, Omega Verse, Past Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Steve Needs a Hug, Tony Feels, Tony Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Has Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 11:14:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13500662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eggsquisite/pseuds/Eggsquisite
Summary: (aka how Bucky saved Steve's relationship)When Bucky walks into the tower one day, Tony is sure Steve will pick his old omega over him.  Bucky takes it upon himself to set the delusional genius straight.





	The Break Up To Makeup

**Author's Note:**

> My first story in a very long time. Comments, suggestions, and positive criticism are appreciated. I'm also considering doing a sequel that would be StevexTonyxBucky, so let me know what you think about that.

The silence of the workshop was only interrupted by the _tap tap tap_ of Tony typing on the holographic projections floating above his work station.  Normally, the genius would be whirling around the workshop with barley concealed glee, working on a million and one things at once.  Today, however, Tony sat subdued, the shops lights only at ten percent, the arc reactor casting a soft yet gloomy glow over the files Tony was working on.

To be honest, Tony had no idea what he was working on.  He was going on seventy-five hours without sleep, hiding out in the shop for the last two weeks.  What ever little sleep he had gotten was short, and filled with nightmares of being alone, of being back in the cave, or in the dark of space, or feeling Obie’s hands on him, or…

Tony sucked in a deep breath, willing himself to _stop thinking, stop thinking, stop thinking._  

Funny, how just a few months ago Tony’s life had been at an all-time high.  Ever since Steve and him had started dating, Tony had never felt more like he was apart of a family in his life.  Tony knew in retrospect the love and affection the team had recently shown him was only to indulging their captain’s new relationship.  He also knew Steve was only dating him out of pity, after all, Tony hadn’t been necessarily secretive about his giant crush on the all-American hero. 

That didn’t make it easier when Bucky Fucking Barnes came waltzing into the tower, stole Clint’s bag of chips, and promptly dropped his ass on the couch and began watching “Toddlers and Tiaras” with Natasha.  Steve had been shocked, and had nearly suffocated Barnes with the biggest reunion hug this century has ever seen.  There had been tears (mostly Steve) and teasing by the other team mates, but the overall reunion between the super soldiers was melodramatic and fairly quiet.

From then on Bucky feel seamlessly into the team.  He watched corny daytime shows with Natasha, had eating competitions with Thor, did morning yoga with Bruce, practiced his marksmanship with Clint, and of course, was practically attached to the hip to Steve. 

Seeing Steve with anyone, much less his former omega, was hard for Tony.  It certainly didn’t help that all the old rumors about Bucky was true, and he was just as _‘swell’_ as the history books made him out to be.  Steve and Tony had never really talked about how their relationship was going to progress after Bucky return.  For a while, it had seemed like maybe, just maybe, Steve would stay with him.  Tony had hoped beyond hope maybe Steve would take pity on him.  That Steve would stay with him, if even for just a while. 

Tony knew it was pathetic, wishing for Steve to stay with him even if his heart belonged to another omega.  Truth be told, Tony had always thought the old saying, “If you love something, let it go, and if it loves you, it will come back,” would never apply to him.  Tony knew, no matter how much he loved someone, they would never come back to him.  Time and time again had proven this hypothesis, and Tony was not ashamed to admit that with Steve, he was desperate to hold onto what little love he could get.  Steve had been the nicest alpha Tony had ever been with.  He’d always been sweet and loving, never hitting Tony for doing something wrong and never forcing Tony into something he didn’t want.  Steve was everything Tony had ever dreamed of, back when he had just presented and the ideas of having a partner to love him and cherish him were still fresh on his mind.  Years of abuse and hurt had pushed those dreams away, and they’d almost been forgotten until Steve had come, all smiles and “aw shucks”, mixed with apple pie and sweet words. 

For almost half a year Tony was able to enjoy Steve’s love and attention, and while Bucky’s return had caused a slight ripple in Tony’s happiness for the past month, Tony had loved every moment of it.

He really should have known it would have never lasted.  In his heart of hearts, when Bucky had come back, Tony had known.  An internal count down had started, and the clock finally hit zero when Tony had walked into the common living room, intent on finding someone to help test out some of the team’s newly upgraded gear, had stumbled upon Steve and Bucky dancing.

From a third-party point of view, the scene would have been truly beautiful.  Bucky and Steve were both definitely lookers in their own right, and in the dimmed lights of the living room, bodies pressed against one another, swaying in time with the beautiful music, the scene looked like it had been pulled straight out of one of those horrible Alpha Omega romance novels Clint denied he read. 

Tony, being the masochist he was, had stayed and watched.  He’d watched as Steve held Bucky like he was the most precious thing in the world, and how Bucky would slowly lean in closer and closer to Steve, as though by just shear determination the two of them could become one.  When the song had stopped, another one automatically started, and Tony continued to watch until the tears in his eyes made the two other men nothing more then colorful blobs and he was having a hard time staying silent with his sobs.  When it became to painful to watch, Tony had silently made his way back to the elevator, and went back to his lab.  After telling JARVIS to put the lab on ghost mood, with nothing but life shattering world ending issues coming through, he collapsed into a sobbing mess on the lab floor.  He’d also put JARVIS on silence after the fifth time the AI had tried to talk some “reason” into his creator, leaving Tony to wallow in misery alone for the past two weeks.

And thus began Tony’s self-imposed isolation.  He’d worked on anything and everything, starting with the projects due for SI, the gear for the Avengers, giving all his bots an upgrade, and then moving on to some of the pet projects he hadn’t had time to get to before now.  Tony probably hadn’t been this productive in years, and at the very least, Pepper wouldn’t complain about his productivity. 

Not to say she hadn’t called.  In fact, just the other day she’d left about fifteen messages asking Tony what was wrong.  Tony of course, had sent all of them to voice mail.  It wasn’t like it was the first time someone had given false empathy towards him.  Not that he truelly thought Pepper was that malicious, but he knew if it wasn’t for the big company name and the multiple “forgive me shoes” Tony gifted her, she wouldn’t be sticking around.

Sighing, Tony angrily swiped the holographic screen away, not bothering to save whatever work he’d had up.  If it was worth anything, JARVIS was sure to save it. 

Shuffling towards the couch (Steve had gotten it, one day just bringing it down with him along with his sketch book.  “I want to watch you work Tony, come on please?  I promise I’ll put it to the side, I’ll just sit quietly and draw”?), Tony grabbed a purple blanket with small cartoonish hulks on them, bundling himself into a small burrito and face planting into the soft cushions of the couch.  Sitting here in the dark, with no project to distract him and sleep being nothing but an allusive dream, the crushing loneliness of his situation finally hit Tony.

It was suffocating, realizing just how alone Tony really was.  Without Steve, there would be no more warm mornings with breakfast in bed and sleepy cuddles.  The team wouldn’t be interested in being his friend any more, now that Steve and Bucky were together.  Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy could be convinced to stay a little longer, as long as Tony keep up with giving them gifts and contracts and inventions.  Maybe that could be enough, having those three around him, but Tony knew it would never be enough now that he had had a taste of what having a real family was like.  No, it would probably be better if Tony just left, if he moved back to the Malibu house, limited the number of missions he went on.  Steve and Bucky deserved to be happy after all, and Tony being there moping around and breaking down at the sight of them being together was sure to put a big damper on their reunion. 

The more Tony thought about it, the more concrete his plans became.  Tony could see the plans coming together, and as they did, his sobs began to quiet and subdue into hiccups.  Wiping his face against the couch cushions, Tony wetly sighed, finally allowing the silence to wash over him. 

“Damn, is this where you’ve been hiding?  Doesn’t sound like the brilliant galaxy of lights and ideas that Steve described it as.”

Tony was not afraid to say he might have startled so hard that he fell of the couch, but he would never own up to the girlish scream which slipped passed his lips.  He was totally justified in his fright though, not even Natasha had been able to break into his lab in the past, and having someone leaning against the opposite wall covered in shadows was enough to make anyone freak out.

“Jesus, Tony, it’s only me.”  Barnes, Tony realized, as the former assassin helped him off the ground.  Tony quickly snatched his arm back from the other omega, muttering for JARVIS to raise the lights up and glaring at the other omega. 

Bucky raised his hands up in the universal “I mean no harm” motion.  Bucky himself moved to the far side of the couch, swinging his legs up, sitting cross leg with his chin in his hand.  Tony stared at the other omega, and for a few uncomfortable moments they sat silently, just starring at each other.

Finally, Bucky seemed to find what he was looking for, and a shit eating grin lit up his face, “Hi there, doll.” 

Tony blinked, completely confused.  Out of everything Bucky could have said, Tony would have thought Bucky would be telling him to back off his alpha, or to leave the tower completely.  Instead, Bucky was being the sweet Brooklyn boy the team had fallen in love with, and dare Tony say it, almost, flirtatious?

Despite Tony’s lack of reply Bucky’s smile didn’t wain and he forged ahead.  “Look, I know things have been a little weird lately.  With me all coming in on your territory and everythin’.  I don’t know what happened, but Steve’s been an absolute wreck since you did this whole locking yourself in the lab thing, and I’m pretty sure Natasha almost planted a bomb on the door to try in break in before I stopped her.  So, I don’t know what exactly happened, if it was me or one of us said something that rubbed yea the wrong way, but I swear all of us are freaking out without you, and we really are sorry for whatever we, or I, did.”

“Wow- wait what a second!”  Tony was completely confused by the end of Bucky’s little spill.  It seemed the days without sleep and little food was finally catching up to him.  There was no way in hell James Buchanan Barnes was in here, concerned about his well being and trying to get him to go back to the alpha Tony knew was going to take back his original omega. 

“What the actual fuck are you saying? Because, I don’t-I don’t need any of your stupid lies and tricks.  I get it!  You and Steve have an epic love story for the ages and the two of you are planning to get back together and it’s fine!”  The tears which had only just recently dried from Tony’s face came back in waves.  “Just, god, leave it already!  I don’t want a pity week from Steve before he leaves me for you.  I’m gonna leave anyways, so the two of you can-you can,” Tony’s energy was leaving him, sobs completely overtaking his body.  The arc reactor asked from the activity, and Tony was all to aware of the former assassin watching him from the other side of the coach, but he was so far gone there was nothing he could do to stop the horrendous crying he was producing.

Tony had no idea how long he sat like that, just crying, until he felt someone tugging and manipulating his body.  To weak to fight, Tony passively let Bucky pull him into his arms, his head being guided to rest on the other mans chest.  Bucky had yet to say anything, but a gentle humming was rumbling throughout his chest as he continued to rock the devastated genius.

Absently, Tony wondered what the actual fuck was going on.  Never had Bucky initiated contact with anyone so willingly, not even Steve.  For all the progress the other omega had made, cuddling still remained a big no no for him.  Causal touching was alright, but nothing like the aggressive nuzzling the man was doing right now. 

Not that Tony was necessarily complaining.  Even before he went into hidding, Steve had been spending a lot of time away either finding Bucky or helping him reacclimate with the world.  All of that meant Tony hadn’t necessarily gotten many one on one time with his alpha, and being held by a warm body, Tony could almost pretend it was a certain blue eyed Adonis holding him.

“Alright sweet heart, Imma start talking and I want you to try your best to listen.”  Bucky’s left hand, the metal one Tony noted absently, come up to gently pull his chin up.  Blinking back tears, Tony regarded the other omega through thick wet lashes.  Bucky, for his part, just smiled down at him, his other hand coming to play with one of Tony’s curls.  “It’s alright if some shit you don’t get, JARVIS has already told me how awful you’ve been taking care of yourself.  Steve an’ I are NOT getting back together.  First, he’s way to smitten over you to ever think about leaving you.  Yea, Stevie and I had something back in the day, but we ain’t really the same people we used to be back then.  I don’t even know who the fuck I am anymore, and there’s no way in hell I’m putting someone else through my shittiness.  Besides, even if I did want to get back with Steve, there’s no more room in his heart for me doll.  I’m pretty sure a certain brown eyed genius may have stolen it some time ago.”

“Me?” a small voice asked, and Tony was surprised to see it was his voice which floated through the lab.

An ear-splitting grin painted his way across Bucky’s face, and a slight twinkly came to his eye.  “Yea, you idiot.  I’ve never seen Steve so busted up about someone, and watching him mop around the floor has got to be one of the cruelest forms of torture on earth.”

A shocked giggle (no damnit, a very manly laugh, and Tony would fight with Bucky for years about that small detail) escaped the smaller omegas lips, “The puppy eyes?”

“Fuck yea, the puppy eyes.  Natasha and Clint have abandoned the common floor all together, and Bruce went on an impromptu vacation with Thor an hour into the lug moping around the gym.  Damn, an hour ago I had to hide in the fucking cabinet to try and avoid being found by him and feeling like I was murdering a fucking puppy.”

Tony wasn’t sure what it was.  Maybe it was finally being held after feeling so damn alone.  Maybe it was Bucky, who was grinning down at Tony life a fool and talking like a fucking sailor.  More than likely, it was finally getting the reassurance from someone that no, Steve wasn’t leaving him.  What ever it was, Tony felt like a weight had lifted from his chest, and it was like being underwater for too long and finally being able to breath again.  Steve wasn’t going to leave him.  Steve was worried about him.  Steve genuinely wanted to be with him, even though his first love was back from the dead.

Steve loved him.

The two of them had said the three words to each other before, mostly in the silence of night where no one else was there to hear.  But Tony had never truly been convinced, a dark part of his mind always reminding him that Steve had had better, that he would always be longing for his past life and former lovers.  Now though, even with the option in front of him, Steve had chosen him. 

“He loves me.”  It started off as a whisper, but Tony couldn’t contain the absolute delight which was coursing through him in waves.  Grinning up at Bucky, Tony repeated himself, almost bouncing in the other omega’s lap, “He loves me.”

“Damn straight!”  Bucky laughed, but Tony didn’t feel judged at all.  In fact, it almost seemed like Bucky was laughing with him instead of at him.  “Finally!  For a genius it sure took you a while to figure it out.”

Whatever else Bucky was going to say was drowned out by the sudden panic which gripped Tony’s heart like a vice.  “Shit!  Shit!  Steve loves me!  I-I have to go see him!  He’s gonna be so mad at me and-“ Trying to jump out of Bucky’s lap, the only thing that stopped Tony from flying out the door was Bucky’s arms wrapping around his waist, keeping him firmly held in the confines of the other omega’s arms.

“Wow!  Slow down there doll.  Stevie’s not mad!  Hurt and confused, yes, but I’m pretty sure you could blow up the world and Steve still couldn’t get upset at yea.  Besides, you’re not in any condition to go up there and have a heart to heart conversation with him right now.  So instead, we’re gonna lay down and take a nap, then where gonna get something to eat, then you can go and explain to Steve why you’ve gone and hidden yourself from the world.”  Bucky simply grinned at the rather pathetic glare Tony was given him.  Even if Tony would have liked to run into the alpha’s arms, all of his emotions had finally caught up with him.  Besides, Bucky was a pretty comfortable pillow, and JARVIS was already lowering the lights. 

“Fine, a small nap.”  Tony consented, but seeing the victorious smile slip onto Bucky’s face he very hastily continued, “But not because you said so.  I was already planning on taking a nap, so it’s not like I’m doing it just because you said so.”

If anything, his reply seemed to make Bucky even more amused.  Huffing, Tony grumpily nuzzled back into the other omega.  Finally, pure, blissful sleep began to take over Tony’s over worked body. 

Right before he fell asleep though, Tony swore he heard a tiny voice in his ear.  “Damn, how the hell did Stevie get a gem like you doll.”


End file.
